Habits
by Berrica
Summary: Annie develops an interesting habit after returning from Sri Lanka.


A/N: Well, I'm not terribly happy with how this turned out. I love the idea (actually, I kinda stole it from an author in a different fandom, and I would recommend that story but I can't find it anymore!) but the execution is lacking, and the tone is kinda strange and not very Annie-like. IMHO, anyway. But, here it is, and I hope you get more enjoyment from it than I did.

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><p>Kissing Auggie's cheek became something of a habit of mine, starting the day he showed how much he cared about my safety. "Everything's going to be fine," I whispered to him that day. But it wasn't. Which brought on the second time I kissed him on the cheek, after I came to him bawling my eyes out when I got back from that mission. I was a wreck, and he was a true friend to me through the whole ordeal. No one else could have offered me the comfort he had given, not Jai, not any of my other co-workers, not even my sister. Not that I could tell <em>her<em> anything about it. But Auggie was sweet and supportive, and as I was leaving his apartment (slightly more drunk than I had been going there – his form of pain medication) I couldn't help but rise up on tip-toe and let him know I appreciated what he had done. That time it was him that whispered, "It's going to be okay."

After that, I barely even noticed that I was doing it. Sometimes it was a thank you for one of the countless favors he did for me, sometimes a comforting gesture. Other times it was simply a hello or good bye, or just seemed the right thing to do at the time. I couldn't tell you why it became so commonplace with the two of us. I had never kissed any of my other friends on the cheek. But he never questioned it, just accepted, and I didn't have any desire to examine the practice up close. It was natural, just another part of who we were together, like the way I took his arm when we walked together or touched his shoulder to let him know I was there next to him. I know people noticed – I heard all the gossip about what, if anything, was going on between the two of us – but it didn't seem to matter to me. We were friends, and if they wanted to think otherwise that was their right.

But I guess Auggie had other ideas.

I remember clearly when the change came. We were sitting in Allen's, talking about nothing in particular, enjoying our usual bantering conversation. I was winning. At least I thought I was. I wonder now if maybe he had been letting me win in hopes of manipulating me into what happened next. Maybe some day I'll ask him. Regardless, he had such a puppy dog pout on his face – obviously fake, with genuine amusement underneath – that I leaned over to give him a teasing, conciliatory peck on the cheek. He must have heard me coming, because next thing I knew he had turned his head and caught my lips with his own, lifting a hand to the back of my neck, burying his fingers in my hair and keeping me there while I worked through the shock.

Yeah, that didn't last long. Auggie's lips, which he had simply pressed against mine, waiting for a response, moved slightly, focusing my attention and breaking my inactivity rather explosively. All trace of coherent thought was gone from my mind, so without any other guiding force my body simply reacted by instinct with a huge, resounding _YES!_ My eyes slid closed, and my hand came up to his shoulder, pulling him closer. I pressed our mouths together so hard I felt his teeth cut my lip, but I hardly cared. Apparently neither did he. Breaths mingled, tongues danced, and I think we both lost some time.

Awareness returned with the sound of cat-calls and enthusiastic applause. We broke apart, Auggie grinning, a deep blush flooding my cheeks. Both of us were panting. I took a drink, Auggie leaned over and whispered something that almost had me wearing the beer in my mouth, and we continued our evening.

But from then on I had a new habit.

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><p>AN: Seriously, if any of you recognize the Bones story I got the idea from, please tell me. I can't believe I lost it! I'm sure it was in my favorites. Sigh, the only thing I can think is that the author removed it from FF.


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